Distance Learning

A recent legal settlement directs $2 billion to California schools to help students recover from learning loss. The lawsuit claimed remote learning was so ineffective that thousands of students were denied their right to an education.

Learning loss during the pandemic hit California's low-income students hardest. An agreement requires the state to focus spending there.

This story is part of a series on the experiences of students attending three different California school districts during the COVID-19 pandemic, in spring 2022. It was produced through a partnership with CatchLight Local and CalMatters.  At Buttonwillow Elementary School, Lorena Hernandez ended the school year ready to graduate eighth grade and start high school, […]

Equity. That’s one of the buzzwords that will likely dominate conversation in California’s capitol next month, when state lawmakers return to Sacramento to consider, among other things, possible legislation to remove the personal belief exemption from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s student COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Stressed school leaders have mixed feelings about that, with some warning it […]

Distance learning is dead. Long live distance learning — or something like it. Last week, a waiver allowing California schools to engage in distance learning expired — putting the state on track to resume full-time in-person instruction in the fall. But on Monday, state lawmakers introduced an amended budget bill that would require schools to […]

Good morning, California. It’s Tuesday, June 8. Lots of uncertainty remains “The one thing I’m certain of is there’s uncertainty in the future,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a Friday press conference that cast doubts on the extent of the state’s grand reopening next week. It was difficult not to think of that comment when […]

The school year will end soon and most of California's 6 million public school students are still trying to learn at home.

Lawmakers have more money and political will, but the telecommunications industry could still stand in the way of broadband for all Californians.

As millions of Californians finish a frustrating “virtual” school year plagued by tech glitches, a CalMatters data analysis exposes affordability as a key barrier to broadband access, for rural and urban students.

It’s a troubling trend: For two out of three months in 2021, California’s unemployment rate shrank partly from thousands of people dropping out of the workforce. The Golden State’s unemployment rate hit a pandemic low of 8.3% in March, down from 8.5% in February, according to figures released Friday by the Employment Development Department. But […]